﻿520 Canadian Record of Science. 



THE BROWN THRASHER. 



( Harporhynchus rufiis.) 



The brown thrasher breeds throughout the United 

 States east of the Great Plains, and winters in the South 

 Atlantic and Gulf States. It occasionally visits the gar- 

 den or orchard, but nests in swamps or in groves standing 

 upon low ground. While it generally prefers a thickly 

 grown retreat, it sometimes builds in a pile of brush at a 

 distance from trees. On account of its more retiring 

 habits it is not so conspicuous as the robin, although it 

 may be equally abundant. Few birds can excel the 

 thrasher in sweetness of song, but it is so shy that its 

 notes are not heard often enough to be appreciated. Its 

 favorite time for singing is the early morning, when, 

 perched on the top of some tall bush or low tree, it gives 

 an exhibition of vocal powers which would do credit to a 

 mockingbird. Indeed, in the South, where the latter bird 

 is abvmdant, the thrasher is known as the sandy mocker. 



The food of the brown thrasher consists of both fruit 

 and insects. An examination of 121 stomachs showed 36 

 per cent, of vegetable and 64 of animal food, practically 

 all insects, and mostly taken in spring before fruit is ripe. 

 Half the insects were beetles, and the remainder chieHy 

 grasshoppers, caterpillars, bugs and spiders. A few pre- 

 daceous beetles were eaten, but, on the whole, its work as 

 an insect destroyer may be considered beneficial. 



Eight per cent, of the food is made up of fruits like 

 raspberries and currants which are or may be cultivated, 

 but the raspberries at least are as likely to belong to wild 

 as to cultivated varieties. Grain, made up mostly of 

 scattered kernels of oats and corn, is merely a trifle, 

 amounting to only 3 per cent., and though some of the 

 corn may be taken from newly planted fields, it is amply 

 paid for by the May beetles, which are eaten at the same 

 time. The rest of the food consists of wild fruit or seeds. 

 Taken all in all, the brown thrasher is a useful bird, and 



